Last week, I wrote my first sales page for a client.
But it took me way longer than it should have.
I made multiple revisions and could have given the client a better experience on this project.
After the project was over, I reflected on it and understood the one mistake that cost me all these extra hours of stress:
I didn’t make a copy brief with the client.
🤷🏽 Why I didn’t use a copy brief
- I didn’t fully understand the importance of a brief.
- It was really important for me to impress this client, and I was anxious to ask him for a 30-minute conversation to prepare the copy brief. Instead, I tried to do my own research on the product, industry, and competitors.
The result was decent, but it wasn’t exactly what the client wanted and didn’t capture his tone of voice. I spent hours rewriting because I didn’t know exactly what he wanted up front.
I realized that this project could have been 10 times better if I had ensured that the client and I were on the same page.
✅ My copy brief checklist that will save you hours
Learning from my mistake, I’ve created a simple checklist that I will either ask the client to complete or complete with him during a 30-minute call.
This checklist will make sure I can write my copy faster and that my client will be thrilled with the results:
- What are we writing? (e.g., sales page)
- What is the goal of this project? (e.g., to sell a specific product)
- Who is the target audience? (as much info as possible: demographics, other interests, pain points)
- What is the product?
- Why is he unique?
- What are the features of the product?
- What are the benefits of the product?
- What objections might the audience have? (+ how we overcome them)
- Tone: What should this copy sound like?
- Are there any specific keywords to include?
- What is our CTA?
✍🏽 How I’ll never make this mistake again
- Not be afraid to nudge the client - I’m not a parasite. It’s a win-win situation. I need to understand that the client wants to win as well. And if I explain to him that one more 30-minute call will help him win, he will happily do that.
- Create a simple plan - clients are busy, and I only need a few key things
- Always make sure we are on the same page before writing anything (aka make the client approve the draft).
If this checklist helps you, let me know!
What’s one question you always ask your clients before writing copy?